Aftermath
by Chibigal4
Summary: Yami and Yami Bakura have gone back to the past. But how does everyone feel about this change?
1. Enter Yugi

Chibigal4: I've got nothing to say yet, so I'll just start.

Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh.

'Thoughts'

"Spoken Words"

Spirit to Host

/Host to Spirit/

Ch 1: Enter Yugi

Yugi walked into his room, closing the door behind him. He flopped down on his bed, smothering his face in his pillow. He had been holding back tears all day, but chose now to let them flow from his eyes. He couldn't believe his best friend was gone forever.

Flashback

Yugi was sitting in his soul room for a while, cradling a teddy bear. He didn't know much about Yami. He had helped him win ever duel he had been in, and even helped save his grandfather's soul. He figured the least he could do, was befriend the spirit. He took a deep breath, stood up, and exited his soul room. He stood in the doorway for a minute or two looking at the door that led to his other half's soul room. The door itself seemed shrouded in mystery. He carefully made his way to it. He hesitated for a moment before grasping the door knob. It felt cold, but Yugi mustered up enough courage to turn and open it.

Yami stood with his back to the door. "Come in if you dare...A game awaits you."

"I...I'm sorry, Yami...I guess I should've knocked." Yugi stammered, backing away a bit.

Yami turned around, "Oh, Yugi...I didn't see you there...You may come in."

Yugi nodded, and closed the door to Yami's soul room behind him. He held the teddy bear behind his back.

"Is something the matter, Yugi?"

Yugi brought the teddy bear out from behind his back and smiled at Yami. "Here, this is for you....It's a present."

Yami was shocked. Out of all the reasons for Yugi to enter his soul room, he never would have guessed that giving him a present would ever be one of them, let alone the reason for this little 'intrusion'. He was only stunned for a moment before re-gaining his cool. He returned Yugi's sweet smile and took the bear.

"Thank you, Yugi....But I'm afraid I don't have anything to give to you in return."

"You don't have to give me anything Yami...Just...Will you...be my friend?"

Yami was once again taken aback by his light. "Of course I will, Yugi. And know that I will be right here, should you need me."

Yugi smiled again. "And you know where to find me, if you need a friend."

End Flashback

Yugi continued to cry alone. He couldn't help thinking that this was all just a nightmare, and Yami would gently shake him awake and calm his fears...but this wasn't a nightmare...it was reality. Yugi never felt so alone in his life. He also felt abandoned. 'Yami told me he'd always be my friend...I thought that meant never leaving me.'

Flashback

Yami was in a transparent form, sitting on the edge of Yugi's bed, across from his light. "Yugi, there's something I have to tell you."

Yami didn't sound like his normal confident self, and this worried Yugi. "What is it Yami? Is something wrong?"

"Yugi, I'm afraid I can't stay with you."

"What!? Why?"

"You know I'm a pharaoh...I recently found that it's my destiny to return to the past and take my rightful place as the pharaoh."

Yugi wanted to say, 'No, Yami, you have to stay here, with me. You always say your past is uncertain...What if when you go back, and nobody remembers you...or cares about you...What if you make a mistake and change history for the worst? This has nothing to do with destiny...This is solely your decision. Are you just going to leave and forget everything? The friends and friends like family you met and got to know and love here? Are you really going to abandon us, Yami?' But, Yugi knew in his heart that the separation would be just as hard for Yami as it would be for him, so instead, he said, "Yami, you have to follow your heart and do what you think is best...And if that means returning to the past, then my friends and I will support you, no matter what your decision."

Yami sighed, relieved. "Thank you Yugi. Your support means the world to me."

End Flashback

'After all we've been through...Yami, you've been there for me, when I needed you...But how could either of us have know, that the only time you wouldn't be there for me, would be the time I needed you the most?' Yugi thought, to himself, as tears dampened his pillow.

Flashback to a few hours before

Yugi, Joey, Tea, Tristan, Grandpa, and even Bakura were there to see Yami off into the unknown past.

"Take care pal." Joey said.

"Good-bye Yami." Tea chimed in.

"Don't work too hard." Tristan said.

"Take it easy, alright?" Bakura said, quietly.

After that, Grandpa wished him well. Then Yami turned to Yugi, who had been quiet the whole time.

"Yugi?" Yami softly called.

Yugi looked at Yami for the last time. "If there's a way to get back to the past, then there's gotta be a better way to come home to the present than waiting 5,000 years...Visit sometime?"

"If I can." Yami replied, before he disappeared.

End flashback

Yugi wondered if Yami's soul room was still in the Millennium Puzzle. He decided to check. He appeared in his soul room and quickly existed. When he looked across the hall, his heart sank. The only proof a room was ever there, was the few holes in the wall where the door's hinges used to be. Feeling alone, he turned to leave, when something caught the corner of his eye. It was a letter, lying where the door used to be. Yugi picked it up and looked at it. It was written in Yami's handwriting...It said,

Yugi,

If you're reading this, that probably means I've returned to the past. I want you to know that during the time we were together, you've made me feel like a part of your family. There were times I had to remind myself that you weren't my brother. I've thought long and hard of what I should do...go back to the past, or stay here...It may be destiny, but it's something I don't want to do...If I had a choice, I'd stay with you...And if there'd be any reason for me to return, then, I'd come back in a heart beat. And I'll always be with you if you allow me to live on in your memory and in your heart. You are and will always be my friend...my light...my partner...

-Yami

P.S. Thank you again for the token of your friendship (the teddy bear you gave me way back when). I will keep it always, as a reminder of you and the all the time we shared.

Yugi left the hall and his soul room. He smiled as more tears escaped his eyes, remembering the letter. It would be something he'd always keep and treasure. Just then, the phone rang. Yugi sat up, reached over and picked up the phone.

"H-hello?" Yugi asked in a shaky voice.

"Hey Yug!" Joey greeted. "How ya holdin' up pal?"

"Ok, I guess...What's up?"

"Well, me and the guys are gonna hangin' out at Burger World and wanted to know if you'd come down and join us."

"Sure." Yugi said, happily. "I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Ok, later bud."

"See you guys then."

Yugi hung up the phone. He was about to run out of the door, but remembered Yami was gone. Yugi stood in front of the mirror. He felt a bit silly wearing the puzzle...there was no need for it now that Yami left. He was about to take off the Millennium Puzzle, but then a thought struck him. If Yami found a way to come back or visit, and Yugi wasn't wearing the puzzle, Yugi wouldn't be there for him.

"I'll wear it always...and keep it safe...for you, Yami." Yugi whispered to the silence. "You'll be with me always...In my mind, and in my heart...and I know that I'm in your heart and memory too."

Yugi then ran down the stairs and out the door to meet up with his friends, with renewed energy, a smile, and most importantly, hope for the future and for his friend, residing now, in the past.

-To be continued

Chibigal4: It may seem like a happy ending, but there's more. In future chapters, come other characters' views and feelings, and finally a conclusion. RR, and Flames will be used to heat my house in the winter.


	2. Enter Bakura

Chibigal4: Ok, No one's saying much about the first chapter, so I'll post the second chapter, and hope more people review...R and R and flames will be given to Joey, to heat his house in the winter time. 

'Thoughts'   
"Spoken Words"   
Spirit to Host/   
/Host to Spirit/

Ch. 2 Aftermath Enter Bakura

Bakura had been sitting on the window seal in his bedroom for a few hours, staring out the window, trying to think.

'He was so mean to me...Why couldn't we get along like Yugi and Yami?'

Flashback

Bakura had been aware that there was a spirit in his Millennium Ring, but was a little nervous about confronting him. 'If he wanted to be my friend, he would've introduced himself by now...unless....he's shy like me and wants me to make the first move...Alright, I say hello, and if all doesn't go well, I'll just retreat.' He took a deep breath, and went into his soul room. It was more or less plain. There were several pictures of his mother, sister, and father everywhere, countless games spread all over the floor, and that was just about it besides a bed. 'Hmmmm...maybe I should tidy up a bit first...No, I'm just trying to put off meeting my other half...I should just get it over with, and hopefully, everything will turn out ok.' He opened the door to his soul room, not bothering to close it. He carefully walked across the hall to his other half's door uncertainly, as if he felt the floor was unstable, and might crumble under his feet if he wasn't careful. When he finally reached his dark half's door, he quietly knocked.

"...H...H..Hello?...Can I come in?...I...If this is a bad time, I can come back later." Bakura stammered. He was now not only nervous, but a bit afraid. He was beginning to shake, and felt cold. It was as if he body was trying to tell him to run away, but he thought he should ignore these warning signs and proceed. 'There's no turning back now.'

The door slowly opened, to reveal Yami Bakura. He had a pair of brown eyes, quiet like Bakura's...Only they seemed more evil...as if they were the eyes of a demon...a monster. He sneered, as he reached out, grabbing Bakura and dragging him into his soul room, making sure to smack his head on the door as he did so. Yami Bakura slammed the door behind him with one hand, and with the other threw his other self halfway across the room. Bakura, not expecting any of his, landed on his butt. As he sat up, he propped himself up with his arms. Yami Bakura walked over to him, grabbed his light by his collar, and heaved him up. He held him at eye level, a few inches off the floor.

"You're afraid" Yami Bakura smirked. "I can see the fear in you eyes...You should have run when you had the chance." With that, Yami Bakura threw Bakura against the wall, pinning him there. Bakura wanted to say something...anything...but his fear consumed him ...he felt paralyzed by it. He closed his eyes, and prayed for help from his mother and sister, as he tried his best to ignore his fear, that was growing worse as the seconds slowly passed. Yami Bakura punched Bakura's chest, knocking the wind out of him, making it hard to breathe. Yami Bakura released Bakura, letting him falls to the ground. Seeing that his light was incapacitated, Yami Bakura dragged Bakura back to his own soul room. "Welcome to your never-ending nightmare." Yami Bakura seethed, slamming the door to Bakura's soul room closed, and locking it.

End Flashback

'After that, he took control of my body, took a knife and...' Bakura's mind trailed off a bit as he shivered at that horrible memory. He rolled up the sleeves of his sweater. The scars from that day were still there...as were other scars his dark half carved in him. 'When I first found out that Yugi had a Millennium Item and a spirit in it, I worried about him. I couldn't help wondering how much pain his dark half was putting him though...And when I found that they were friends, I...I got jealous...I wanted to be friends with mine too...I used to wondered what kind of family he had...what kind of environment he lived in...and what could have possible gone so horribly wrong to make him the way his is...The longer he was with me, the less I found myself wondering this.'

The phone rang, making him jump. He had always been a little jumpy, but seemed even more so recently. He got off the window seal and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey, Bakura, It's me, Joey...What's up?"

"Nothing..."

"...Oh, well, that gang and I are going to Burger World, and since the spirit of the ring's gone, I was wonderin' if you'd come."

Bakura was surprised to say the least. The last time he had been invited to go anywhere, he was too afraid his dark half would hurt somebody..His social life suffered due to his fear...Most people just thought he was shy, but even if they knew the truth, nobody would understand or feel the same pain...the same isolation he did, nor he felt, that anyone would want to.

Flashback

Bakura had been invited to a birthday party, and it was all he could think about for the past few weeks. He had been stuck in the house with no one but his other half, and he was ready for a change of pace, scenery, and company. 'I think I'll just send the card and present in the mail...That would probably be for the best.'

What? You're not going? It's all you've been thinking about.

/How would you know that?/

I can read your thoughts.

Bakura had just about all he could take from his other self, but was too afraid of him to say anything.

Well, if your not going, then maybe I should.

/What? You can't!/

And why not?

Yami Bakura sounded outraged. Bakura felt very small and weak. 'Now I've done it...He'll kill me this time for sure...Why did I talk back to him?'

End Flashback

'Yami Bakura took control of my body and cut me several times with a knife after that incident too...I remember taking care of that injury and thinking to myself, I wish my father never brought home the ring...I wish I never knew the spirit...I wish he would just go away and leave me alone forever!'

"Bakura? Ya still there?" Joey's voice rang in Bakrua's ear, bringing him somewhat back to the present.

"I suppose I should've been more careful of what I wished for." Bakura said, still thinking of the past.

"What? What are ya talking about?"

"Huh? Oh...Oh nothing...It's...I'm just daydreaming...that's all...I'll be there."

"Ok...I'll see ya there...Just don't talk to yourself on the way over....I'm cool with that, but other people might start to wonder."

"Oh, of course....Good-bye Joey."

"Later."

Bakrua hung up the phone. He couldn't help but remember what had taken place just hours before.

Flashback

Yami Bakura had taken control of Bakura's body and had gone to the museum.

/Why are we here?/

The Pharaoh's going back to his past, so I'm going to beat him there.

Yami Bakura stared at the tablet for a minute. A moment later, Bakura had control of his body again. He could no longer feel the spirit's presence in the Millennium Ring. 'I...I'm free...The nightmare is over. I won't have to live in fear anymore.' He left and went home, feeling a little guilty for thinking what he did when his dark half left him, and a half hour later, he got a call from Joey telling him Yami was leaving and he should go with them to see him off.

End Flashback

"I suppose I should be going...I'll probably be late now." Bakura said, talking to himself. He ran out the door, not giving a second thought to the Millennium Ring or the spirit that once resided in it.

-To be continued

Chibigal4: Once again, not the end of the story, we've still got a lot more povs to go through and a conclusion!


	3. Enter Tea

Aftermath Enter Tea

Tea was staring at the ceiling. 'I would be at work but a few days ago, Yami Bakura told the manager that I wasn't wasn't old enough to work there, and got me fired. I'm still mad at him, but I didn't once blame Bakura...after all, that wouldn't be fair to him.' She was depressed. Not only did she loose her job, but she lost a close friend.

Flashback

Tea was waiting for Yami. Yugi had asked her to help him. She wasn't sure what to do or what she should say. 'I should just wing it. What else can I do? Yami's unpredictable. He might already have a plan and know what he wants to do.'

"Hey! Yugi! I'm not...You can't...This isn't a duel!" Tea turned her head and saw Yami. He was yelling at the Millennium Puzzle. Then Yami looked up and saw her staring at him. "Hello."

"I take it, Yugi didn't tell you?" Yami didn't answer. "Well, what do you want to do?"

"I haven't thought about it...Why don't you decide?"

"Well...there's a cafe not too far from here...It just opened...Do you want to check it out?"

"Sure."

Tea and Yami walked here in silence. She wanted to talk to him, but couldn't find a good way to start a conversation. When they got there, they took a seat on a couch. She sat there for a minute before turning to him and saying, "Have you read any good books lately?"

"No, I haven't...I spend most of my time in my soul room, looking for answers."

'Way to go, genus...You probably upset him. You're supposed to be HELPING, not making things worse...Am I yellling at myself? Get a grip, Tea.'

"Tea is something wrong?"

'Just be honest!' "No." 'Oh, crap, I just lied...Way to tell the truth!'

"You seem uncomfortable."

"It's just that...I feel silly...Yugi and I are really close friends...Yugi tells me you and him are close friends...almost like twins...And I want to be your friend too..So I thought I should ask you somethings, but I was afraid that you might not remember and feel worse. I thought you'd say something like 'Not much to tell' or 'There's not much about me you don't know already'...and now I'm just rambling...I'm sorry."

Yami looked at Tea for a moment. "It's amazing....You were able to know exactly what I'd say and probably feel...Maybe you know me better than you think."

Tea smiled. 'Now I really want to tell him about that dream I had last night...Where we're in Ancient Egypt and he's walking up stairs. I ask him where he's going and he says to face my destiny...good-bye..Then he leaves though double doors as I stand there yelling after him...But he has enough to worry about.'

End Flashback

'As I look back on it now...I should've told him. At the time, I was able to think of so many different reasons for me not to...and now they seem less important than the resons why I should have told him.' She sighed. 'I remember telling him my dream to become a dancer...He never told me what his dream to think of it...I told him a lot...My hopes, fears, dreams...but he never once told my anything like that about himslef...maybe he didn't want to be my friend...Maybe deep down, he knew that he'd have to leave one day and didn't want to get close to many people...people he'd have to say good-bye to and leave behind.' Tea got up and walked over to a bookself that had a photo album. She picked it up and sat down on a rocking chair wanting to flip through it. There first pictures she saw had to be at least 10 years old...when she and Yugi had been 6. That's when they met. The entire album was dedicated to her friends, and until she met Joey and Tristan, Yugi was the only one she had. As she flipped through the book, she watched her and Yugi grow up, then all of a sudden, her other two knuckle-headed friends appeared, and there were even a few with Bakura..although most of the time it was just a hand or a foor or maybe half of his face. 'He never liked getting his picture taken.' Then, as she flipped the page, Yami appeared. Tea frouned looking at the pictures, as she quickly flipped though the book...Most of the pictures were of Yami. 'Have I been ignoring Yugi and my other friends? All these pictures are nothing but Yami.' A few flipps later, she came across a group shot, with Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Bakura. They were standing in front of the window and in the reflection of the glass, Yami Bakura and Yami could be seen. Then she flipped the page again and saw a picture of Kaiba. It was a relitivly nice shot. He was sitting at his desk and was actually looking at the camera, not looking annoyed. 'What the...I didn't take that one...Oh, wait...that's the picture Joey took on the last day of school.'

Flashback

"Hey, Tea, can I borrow your camera?" Joey asked.

"What for?" Tea asked.

"Rich boy's been buggin' me all day...it's time for payback."

"Just be careful." Tea said, handing over her camera.

Kaiba was sitting at his desk reading. Joey walked over to him. "Hey, Kaiba."

"Go away, mutt."

"Got a question for ya."

"I'm busy."

"I need help on a crossword puzzle."

"Ask Yugi."

"What's a six letter word for a dairy product from a cow?"

By this point, Kaiba looked up. "Cheese."

As he said that, Joey lifted the camera and took the shot. "Thanks." He turned to walk away.

Kaiba sat there, confused and blinded for a minute. "COME BACK HERE!" he yelled, leaping across his desk in an attempt to catch Joey.

"Why?" Joey asked as he ran.

"So I can break that camera."

"It's not mine...It's Tea's."

"I don't care."

End Flashback

'They had the whole class in an uproar...Tristan wanted to make a bet with Yugi...He said Joey would get the pulp beat out of him...Yami was for the bet, but Yugi turned it down.' Tea flipped the page and found a picture of Marik, Isis, and Odion. 'I gotta admit...I didn't like Marik and Odion at first, but once Battle City was over, they didn't turn out to be the bad guys I thought them to be...They're actually nice guys.'  
Before Tea got the chance to turn the page, the phone rang. She leaned over and picked it up. "Hello."

"Hi Tea, it's me, Joey."

"Hi Joey...What's up."

"Meet me at Burger World ok?"

"Why?"

"For Operation Cheer Up."

"For what?"

"I think Yugi and Bakrua are depressed...We should cheer 'em up, don't ya think?"

"Sure...That's what friends are for, right?"

"Exactily. See ya there." "Ok?"

Tea hung up the phone. 'I don't think Yugi and Bakura are the only ones that are depressed...I think we're all taking this kinda hard...And why shouldn't we? Yami's our friend...And I think to cope with this, we'll all need support." Tea got up, put the photo album back, and walked out the door.

-To be continued


End file.
